KAMPALA – Five startups from Africa have been chosen to join the group of 20 winners advancing to the next stage in the announced regional finals for the online Seedstars World Competitions 2020/21 (SSW).
From 94 startups, only 20 are moving on to the regional finals for a chance to secure a spot at the grand finale of competition.
In the finale, only one startup will emerge as the Global winner, receiving the grand prize of $500K in funding.
According to Eugenia Shevchenko, lead of the competition, with how hard and unexpected 2020 was to everyone, it was really amazing to see their finalists grow over the competition while going through the Online Seedstars Academy as well as the one month investment readiness program. She noted that it was going to be an exciting Regional Finals.
Seedstars, a Swiss-based investment holding with a mission to impact people’s lives in emerging markets, annually holds the Seedstars World Competition to scout for the most promising startups around the Asia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America regions.
The five African startups include Flamingoo Foods from Tanzania, taking on the agriculture industry. It is using cutting edge technology and their trained staff to mill rice collected from trusted farmers within the Rukwa Rift Valley.
CAPTURE Solutions from Ivory Coast is another AgriTech joining the finals. They provide Business to Business ICT applications to companies and organizations in need of re-organizing and streamlining their working processes.
FinTech startups are also joining the lineup of finalists. Crowd funding and payments solutions are represented by Ladda from Nigeria, a one-stop investment platform, and Sparco Inc. (Zambia), a startup providing a Pan-African payment infrastructure that unifies all payments market players on the continent.
Rohobot Home from Ethiopia in the HealthTech category is the final of the five startups. They provide home based health care service for chronic ill and aged people with affordable prices.
The African regional finals will be aired on April 16, 2021. The remaining finalists will tussle it out through their pitches and viewers will get the chance to watch it all happen online.
In 2013, Seedstars started as Seedstars World, an initiative created by founding partners Pierre-Alain Masson and Alisée de Tonnac who, equipped with a backpack and passion to change the world, set on a world tour across 20 entrepreneurial ecosystems to scout for the most promising early-stage startups and build the largest entrepreneurial community in emerging markets.
The first startup competition in 13 countries was a massive success and gained attention on a global scale. It showed to the world the untapped potential of developing economies, innovative solutions and talented entrepreneurs willing to transform their communities.
This led to larger tours for the following six years, bringing together thousands of entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and experts. Today, Seedstars World is the largest startup competition in emerging markets.
